'White Lotus' Season 3 Killer Theory: The Monkey Did It

Photo: HBO

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Yeah, it’s early. The White Lotus hasn’t even fully laid out the conflicts driving the characters visiting the titular resort chain’s Thai location. That doesn’t matter. When it comes to the mysterious shooting that kicks off the season — as is custom, because Mike White understands you need to sex up an adult drama with a little murder — I’m ready to stick my neck out for a theory that I’ll ride to the very end: The monkey did it.

We are not yet a year removed from Chimp Crazy (another HBO production, as it happens), which took pains to illustrate several instances of chimps laying waste to people, Nope style, seemingly after hitting their limit under extensive human captivity. But they don’t even have to be caged to lash out. In 2022, a gang of free-roaming macaques reportedly terrorized townspeople in Yamaguchi, Japan, breaking into apartments, messing with crops, and injuring residents with scratches and bites. We can’t glean what motivated them to go on the offensive, of course, but they probably had their reasons. Point is, simian violence is a thing that happens. It’s not super-common, but when it does, it’s catnip for sensational headlines and batshit television.

Of course, a distinction must be made. Monkeys are different from apes. In case you’re wondering about the specifics, my editor, Genevieve Koski, points to a useful rule of thumb: Monkeys have tails; apes — like chimps, gorillas, and orangutans — do not. The latter groups also tend to be larger and can generally be perceived to come across as more … humanlike, shall we say, in their dispositions. According to research, apes are more physiologically capable than monkeys of wielding a gun, but this relative framing still leaves room for possibility. While one can argue it’s less likely for a monkey to pull the trigger, ultimately, it’s not impossible for them to do a John Wick. Monkeys can peel bananas with precise fingers. Monkeys left in a room with a laptop and Microsoft Word won’t produce Shakespeare, no, but they might bash out a pretty good tweet. Why wouldn’t a monkey left alone with a gun figure out how to take a shot? And did you notice those personal bodyguards packing heat?

You need more evidence? What are you, a lawyer? Fine: Consider how Mike White consistently alluded to monkeys throughout the series. They reliably appear in the frescoes of the opening credits for all three seasons. Monkeys are the perfect symbol for the people of The White Lotus: They are silly, horny, fabulous, and intermittently violent creatures. What’s interesting about season three so far is how they’re increasingly foregrounded, deployed as a recurring motif that looms over the proceedings as the premiere acquaints us with the weirdness present in each set of characters. After a scene establishes how, say, “Walton Goggins has a really sweaty vibe going on” or “It sure seems like that Southern family might be trending toward incest,” the camera occasionally cuts to a monkey somewhere in the vicinity of the resort for a pensive beat, as if to say these creatures are always watching, like little gods.

The thing about non-human primates is that we homo sapiens sometimes look at them and feel the strangeness of seeing ourselves somewhat reflected back. This strangeness causes all sorts of internal agitation, an uneasiness about humanity’s closeness to animality. Perhaps the other way around is also true. The White Lotus is a show about silly little people and their sins. Maybe the monkeys have always been watching the sinners, and this season, they can’t take it anymore.